Completion of and production from a subterranean wellbore typically involves numerous steps. Usually, the wellbore is first drilled, cased, and cemented to ensure fluids produced from the subterranean formation make it to the surface as efficiently as possible. Next, a process known as perforation creates a plurality of apertures in the cased and cemented wellbore to allow hydrocarbons in the production zone formation to enter the wellbore. Because subterranean casing strings are usually constructed from steel tubing, perforating “guns” having explosive shape charges are often deployed for this purpose. These charges, when detonated, pierce the casing, cement, and formation, thereby allowing the hydrocarbons to flow into the wellbore. Often, merely piercing the casing is not enough to produce hydrocarbons from the formation in economically sufficient quantities. Frequently, additional operations are performed to inject stimulating chemicals into the formation. Once the flow of production fluids into the bore of the cased wellbore is sufficient to justify the cost of drilling and maintaining the well, production systems including various pumps valves, and measurement devices are installed to transfer the hydrocarbons flowing from the formation to the surface.
Presently, the perforation and chemical injection processes are performed separately from and with different apparatuses than production because these processes are damaging to production system components. Particularly, the shock waves generated in explosive perforation and the harsh acids and other chemicals used in stimulation have a tendency to damage pump and valve assemblies in production systems. As such, perforation, stimulation, and production are often carried out separately with distinct components, each requiring a trip in and out of the borehole. Because the cost of rig time is at a premium, separate operations to perforate, fracture, stimulate, and produce a wellbore can be extremely expensive. As such, a need arises in the petroleum industry for a single assembly capable of perforating, stimulating, and producing a subterranean formation on a single trip into the wellbore. Such an assembly capable of performing all three (or even two out of the three) operations without damage to sensitive production components would be extremely well received by production companies.